Senior clerics are subject to sanctions by Ukraine in a pro Russian church

Ukraine is imposing sanctions on 10 top clergy connected to a pro-Moscow church because they consented to cooperate with the Russian occupation authority or supported Moscow’s invasion, informed the Ukraine security agency

 

The announcement is the most recent in a string of actions taken against a Ukrainian Orthodox Church branch with ties to Moscow in the past. The Russian Orthodox Church itself is in favour of the conflict.

 

The security services claimed in a statement that the 10 clergy had in a variety of ways supported pro-Russian narratives, agreed to assist with occupation authorities, and justified Russian military aggression in Ukraine.

 

The majority of the clergy are either foreigners or residents of Russian-controlled territory. They are all either members of the church or have close ties to it.

 

The official statement says that, ‘The Security Service of Ukraine continues to conduct extensive work on the protection of Ukrainian statehood and will continue to expose individuals who endanger the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.’

 

Although the Ukrainian branch of the Russian Orthodox Church publicly broke connections with it in May, many Ukrainians continue to harbour misgivings about it and suspect it of working covertly with Russia.

 

The five-year restrictions will freeze the assets of persons on the list, prevent them from owning land, and prevent them from remitting money out of Ukraine.

 

Additionally, the security agency has conducted a number of searches on churches and structures connected to the church, which claims that it has always adhered to Ukrainian law.

 

Of Ukraine’s 43 million inhabitants, the majority are Orthodox Christians. Between the Moscow-affiliated church and the independent Ukrainian church that was established soon after independence, competition has been severe since the fall of Soviet control.